Five for Friday- Summer Vacation Has Begun!

It's Five for Friday and Summer Vacation has officially begun!! I love linking up with Five for Friday to see what all my bloggy buddies are up to! My beautiful step-kids are arriving for the summer in one week so this week was centered around getting the house ready for them. It's definitely a work in progress! Here's a look at my week:

I am of no use to my family if I am not on my "A" game! The last several years my health and weight have fluctuated like the wind. This week I completed Week 1 of the WiO Diet. The nice part about this week is that no exercise was required!! The hardest part was going cold turkey off of all sugar and soda pop.  I found that drinking orange flavored soda water helped curb my craving for pop, or drinking ice cold water…but it definitely was a challenge! My hubby is joining me on this diet, along with his parents, so having it be a family affair definitely helped get us through the cravings and wanting to cheat. I'm loving the taste of the chocolate shakes (3 times a day- breakfast, lunch and right before bed…dinner is a protein and salad) so that made it much easier to do. This is a 12 week program for Phase 1. Exercise starts this next week….wish me luck!!

 

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My Mom gave me this book over ten years ago and it is the book I turn to when I want to get my house clean and organized. The Fly Lady divides the house into 5 Zones and has checklists and tips for cleaning each zone. This last week I tackled Zone 1 and part of Zone 2. I cleaned and organized the backyard and shed and then I tackled deep cleaning the refrigerator. I wake up early in the mornings and just dedicate my mornings to cleaning. It doesn't look like much, but the shed was packed to the hilt with sleds, shovels and tools. And the refrigerator got the maaaajor overhaul!! Every shelf and drawer was removed and scrubbed. I even had my hubby pull out the fridge and I mopped and cleaned behind and underneath it! Here are some of the results:

I updated my Top Ten Reasons I Love My Dad (pages for  uncle or grandpa are included) book and put it on my TpT store. I love the cute little graphics and the countdown format. What are you planning for Father's Day?

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I started reading one of the required books that my principal gave us for summer reading. I LOVE this book! Eric Jensen is amazing anyway, and maybe it's because this topic is dear to my heart because I teach at low-income school, but I have been highlighting and re-reading this book! 

Yeeee haw!! We FINALLY got a new dishwasher!! It's been a long two years of washing dishes by hand!! We finally broke down and bought a new dishwasher and life has become that much more simplified! No more dirty dishes in the sink!! It's so fancy, I'm not sure what to do with myself! Our last dishwasher was over 20 years old! This one is so sleek and shiny!! And it's so dang quiet!! I LOVE!! (That's my cute little  puppy, Bella, reflected in the photo!) Hey, any tips on keeping the stainless steel clean?? I have found wiping it down with a damp cloth and then drying it with a dry cloth works pretty well.

Have a great weekend!! 

And remember, be kind to yourself!